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Med Uzr wrote on Aug 14, 2010 12:55 PM:

" I dont get it, new drugs come out all the time, hundreds per year, and NO ONE says a word. But you bring up cannabis, and all of a sudden every religious nutzoid and cop in the world stands up like they are experts in the field of medicine, and that their opinion actually has any merit.

The hysteria that surrounds cannabis is just sickening to think how trivial and idiotic human beings can be. "

Knowledge is Power wrote on Aug 9, 2010 8:55 PM:

" The Oregon Board of Pharmacy (BOP) voted 4-1 on June 16 to move cannabis to Schedule II, thereby recognizing its medical use.

Please educate yourselves. "

Here 4 Now wrote on Aug 7, 2010 10:40 AM:

" What I want to know is why didn't the Argus interview a doctor on the matter. Asking a cop about medicine/drugs makes about as much sense as asking a painter for expert advice on rebuilding an engine.

Kee has an agenda, and his opinion should be taken with a grain of salt. I on the other hand have stage 4 lymphoma and the stuff works for me and becaue of it I can eat and sleep without throwing up or waking up every 10 minutes, and to me those are miracles at this point. The only harmful things in my life right now are my cancer, and the cops that stand in my way from getting my medicine easily. "

a Reader wrote on Aug 6, 2010 2:29 PM:

" I just finished reading measure 28. I have to wonder if it would not BE better to have it dispensed from a reputable store rather than "off the street corner" We obviously cant control it and waste more time and money trying to enforce the laws. After reading the 1938 marijuana tax act and just who supported it and why. I believe that money could be better spent getting rid of meth and the hard stuff that it seems that are really ruining peoples lives. If it wasn't illegal then the criminal element would be eliminated. I doubt that the amount of illegal "pot" would then be any more prevalent than illegal alcohol. I doubt that peoples lives are as devastated by smoking pot as they are using meth. "

Dee Dee Dee wrote on Aug 6, 2010 2:22 PM:

" Thats the problem. Marijuana needs to be moved to Schedule II so the States would be more able to control their own drug policies. So much research is limited or not allowed at all just because of the scheduling of marijuana.

" It is a drug, not a medicine,” he said about marijuana. “It is not taken like a medicine, it is not regulated like a medicine. There is nobody looking at the quality of it, like a medicine."

Pure ignorance right there. Many medicines are taken orally and/or through vaporizer, which are the most common ways that patients consume their medical cannabis. I don't know any medical marijuana patients that actually smoke their marijuana, so Kee must not know that vaporizing and eating cannabis are the most used forms of consuming marijuana. It isn't regulated because it is prohibited, and their are no quality control because again, it is prohibited. You want regulation and quality control, then stop leaving it up to the criminals to grow and distribute the stuff. Geez... "

county wrote on Aug 6, 2010 7:22 AM:

" Marijuana is a schedule I drug, same as heroin. Methamphetamine is a schedule II drug. Just FYI. If you dont know what I am talking about then google it. "

In Pain wrote on Aug 5, 2010 12:41 PM:

" If you have ever had TERRIBLE pain or pain that goes on and on (chronic pain)you would not question any relief. I am not talking about a boo-boo on your finger. I suffer with pain and many times have thought about jumping off a cliff if it didn't hurt so much that I could not climb up the face. If you have pain that is well controlled with aspirin good for you. And I truly hope that you never experience anything worse. I take a host of (legal) drugs to cut it down to a manageable level. What is the difference what you take to manage pain?

As far as people with terminal cancer or advanced AIDS I feel like we have no business telling them " I have this stuff that might help a little. But you cant have it because its not legal and some people think it is addicting and will shorten your life."

Anyone who can do that has more guts than I do or gets a really big kick out hurting people to be "noble". "

Dude wrote on Aug 3, 2010 3:07 PM:

" All this debate is really harshing my buzz man. "

smokkeyjoe wrote on Aug 3, 2010 7:50 AM:

" there is a thin line between pain and pleasure, when you are in pain in hosp and get morphine, it makes the pain subside and part and parcel of that is it also makes you feel good, hard to separate those two things with any pain relief drug. and so it is with the Marijuana, when you feel the pleasure of body relax, pain is reduced and or you are able to deal with it, partly due to pleasure the body takes in this form of relaxation. why is this hard to understand by folks who act intelligent except where control issues are up for grabs. wake up take our inherent rights each of us. the dog belongs to us, make that leash shorter until law enforcement gets it and comes to heal when told to by its master, the will of the people.
remove from office those who refuse to reform, vote, change, peace. "

pause to think wrote on Aug 2, 2010 11:37 AM:

" If we forget what we have been taught for a moment and consider, we might actually question a government that demonized a plant put here by our Creator, while all the while poisoning us with chemical narcotic drugs. Even our children they advocate powerful drugs that generally have 2 pages listing side effects and monitoring proceedurs to "ensure minimal damage". I do not advocate the abuse of anything legal or illegal. I just find it ironic that every drug they prescribe has devistating possibilities with an overdose, yet there has never been a case of overdose by smoking marijuana, besides someone falling asleep. I get the major jitters with too much caffiene, yet nobody questions whether we might want to moniter or test how much caffiene even minors consume. By the way mr. Kee is wise to look to be informed on the issue as we have chosen him to enforce our laws. "

Richard Steeb wrote on Aug 2, 2010 8:22 AM:

" "A drug, not a medicine"? That sounds rather ignorant from the start. What is Fentanyl?

Cannabis is an Herb, not a drug. Marinol is a drug.

Hope this helps... "

Sam wrote on Aug 1, 2010 10:20 PM:

" My uncle is has his medical marijuana card, and he is a terminal cancer patient. I think it's very unfair to say that marijuana is only a drug, and not a medicine. All medications are 'drugs', and many of them are abused. But that does not take away the legitimacy of the treatment itself. I find it strange that legalization of marijuana is such a hot topic when so many children are prescribed Ritalin, and Adderall (which is an amphetamine) but no one seems to mind. "

The War Rages on wrote on Aug 1, 2010 6:00 PM:

" Again, and again we see this issue of marijuana cross our ballots before.
And, the report does say that most people taking this drug are in great physical pain.

I too have back troubles and am limited with what physical activities I can do. However, I will not take marijuana with medical permission or not. As the above article notes marijuana is not governed and tested for potency. I have heard that a drop of pure caffiene can kill a person, and I am not the one to test this.

The only finger I point is at the medical profession. There must be a way either tomorrow or within a few short years that allows a person to be read by computer to grade the true ammount of pain a person is in, and not with the use of the 1-10 scale the doctor asks the patient.
Really, there must be a part of the human brian that can be tested for pain in the rest of the body. Shoot, the brain has a map of the body there must be a compass too. "

Steve Nelson wrote on Aug 1, 2010 5:53 PM:

" "During the interview, Kee never mentioned if he was for or against the use of medical marijuana, and he said he is not a prohibitionist. He just wants people to be informed."

What Kee said is that "...marijuana is not medicine". He is contradicting in his statements. Obviously, he does not approve of the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program and by asking for dialogue on the subject, he is actually violating ethics and statute by engaging in political debate on a subject already approved by Oregon voters 12 years ago.
I could send him an article a day for the next two years with scientific and medical studies that say cannabis is medicine. Even the Veterans Administration recently acknowledged this fact by informing all VA hospitals to treat legal medicinal use as a non-street drug in testing for abuse.

"Kee said that marijuana use and abuse is the second leading cause, behind prescription medication, that individuals go into treatment."

Where does Kee get this info? I cannot find it anywhere in any study. He should cite his sources.
The use of alternative medicines in general is disconcerting to many, especially the pharmaceutical corporations. The fact is that many uninsured patients must turn to cannabis and other treatment as it is the only way they can find relief when unable to afford a $600 bottle of opiates dispensed by your local, legal drug dealers Rite-Aid, Walgreens, etc. "

Police are not MDs wrote on Aug 1, 2010 3:05 PM:

" I-28 is not about legalization. Less than 1% (36,380 patients) of Oregon’s total population (~3.8 million) is currently registered with the OMMP. This new bill will provide safe and legitimate access to a small percentage of state registered patients.
I urge all Oregonians to please take a look at the scientific evidence behind medical marijuana. The American Medical Association recently recommended rescheduling Cannabis on the federal level. Last month Oregon’s Board of Pharmacy rescheduled Cannabis to schedule II to reflect its medical potential. Science continues to provide evidence that Cannabis is safe and effective medicine. "

Chet R Biggerstaff wrote on Aug 1, 2010 11:21 AM:

" It would seem that Mr. Kee is still ignorant on the facts cannabis. He does not seem to understand the correlation between drug arrests, drug courts, the other option, jail, and what really happens. The way our system is set up right now a minor drug offender (those caught with just cannabis and no other major issue) are offered a choice upon their arrest. They can either proceed with the standard course which is jail, conviction, loss of benefits, loss of financial aid, loss of gun rights, loss of voting rights, etc. or they can choose to go through the drug court program. The drug court program allows users to come through and not have a felony on the record if they complete the program and they won't lose any of their benefits or anything mentioned above. Now I don't know about you but I sure would choose to go through drug rehab instead of losing my job, losing my benefits, losing my voting rights, losing my financial aid rights for school among a myriad of other penalties assigned to cannabis users which are far greater than even for murderers. The opposition always brings up the fact that there are a huge number of cannabis users in drug rehab. They say this as if it was cannabis that was causing this in the first place when it is actually the choice given by the current law that creates these numbers. Law enforcement and the opposition in general know this but flat out lie to the people to try and further their position. This is an absolutely disgusting abuse of power and those doing it should be brought up on charges. This is just one of many issues that the opposition is not honest on as if they were being honest they would have no basis in reality for which to argue from. The day is quickly approaching when the opposition will no longer be able to lie to the public on the topic of cannabis and I am very glad I am a part of it. "

Show Me wrote on Aug 1, 2010 7:03 AM:

" Chief Kee,
I hear your "concern's", but can you cite any Real Harm to self and society arising from your expressed "alarm" over the numbvers of ailing Oregonian's participating in the OMMP?

You must have forgotten about Social Services benefitting from a reduction of costs associated with Health Care Programs? Lots of people are using Fewer Prescribed Drugs that are covered under Social Programs as they transition to Cannabis therapy.
In addition to that, they are Going to the Dr's Less, because they feel Better. Another tax payer cost savings.

By being allowed under the law to produce their own medicine's, Fewer people are accessing the Black Market, resulting in a reduction of crime.

I'm just curious. You have cited lots of number, but not verifiable Evidence of Harm arising from them.

Are your objections truly related to Matter's of Public Safety? "

Kristen Gustafson wrote on Aug 1, 2010 3:16 AM:

" Why is it so difficult for people to accept that cannabis does work for pain and it is less harmful to our bodies that other forms of pain relief, over the counter or pharmaceuticals?

Why is it that it is difficult to accept that we made a choice, in cooperation with our physicians, that we are legally allowed to make?

Why is there so much opposition to using the least expensive, least harmful substance available to treat our pain?

Someone please help me understand this, because I don't get it.

I am tired of fighting about it.
We get to make the choice.

It is a medical choice.
That is personal, between oneself and ones physician.

I support I 28 because I want patients to have safe, reliable access to medical cannabis.

Right now, they do not and it is working out pretty well for black market dealers.

Is that what we want?

for more information on cannabis as medicine:
search for ""Patients out of Time and "Elvy Musikka" on the internet.
You can find Ms. Musikka on youtube.

I am sorry I am not allowed to include the link to more info.

Please seek it out and educate yourself.

Please support I 28 and vote yes in November!

thank you for listening,
Kristen Gustafson "

not a user but... wrote on Jul 31, 2010 11:42 PM:

" Although I am not a user of marijuana of any kind, I just can't believe people think that it is that harmful. Mr. Kee is taking one side of the story and not looking at the other, according to this article.

And how can you say that marijuana is a drug and not medicine. Aren't medicines considered drugs? And probably users of marijuana are the second leading group of people who seek treatment is because when they get caught with it, the judge forces them to go. So since prescription drug users are first, I think we should tackle that issue head on first. VOTE NO for prescription drugs!!

Marijuana's medical purposes have been proven and are legit. I don't even use and I am even for legalizing it for recreational use. It is no worse for you than tobacco or alcohol, so regulate it. Get all the so called criminal users out of jail and start selling and taxing it like booze and tobacco. "

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